Olive holder for olive pitter



Nov; 19, 1968 J- L. MARGAROLI OLIVE HOLDER FOR OLIVE PITTER Filed Dec. 29. 1966 WIN L lli XI 1 w 7 38 6 24 //4 J18 H6 I40 (I, fl 7 I24 138 if I I E- .1:

. INVENTOR. JOHN L. MARGAROL/ li ba/ 'w 4 T 7' ORNE V5 United States Patent 3,411,556 OLIVE HOLDER FOR OLIVE PITTER John L. Margaroli, Oakland, Calif., assignor to Geo. W. Ashlock Co., San Leandro, 'Calif., a corporation of California Filed Dec. 29, 1966, Ser. No. 605,905 4 Claims. (Cl. 146-27) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE For an automatic, high speed olive pitting machine of the general type disclosed in US. Letters Patent No. 2,407,126, there is provided olive holders, or cups, so mounted that their longitudinal axes may be tilted through an acute angle so that the upper ends of said axes may be directed to any point along a given circular path. With cups of this type, olives, which are deposited therein with their longitudinal axes tilted at an acute angle with respect to the vertical, may, under the joint action of the upper pitting and the lower coring knife, be pitted essentially along a vertical path to minimize lower end break-out during pit removal.

Summary of the invention The invention comprises, in combination, an upright, open-ended cup having a pocket therein shaped to receive and support an elongated o ive with the long axis thereof in substantially a vertical position, and retaining and support means for said cup enabling universal tilting of said cup to dispose the longitudinal axis thereof at an acute angle of intersection with the normal vertical axis thereof, whereby an olive disposed in said pocket at an angle to the vertical may have its pit removed along an essentially vertical pit removal path.

The drawing consists of FIGS. 14.

FIG. 1 is a view in vertical diametral section of the preferred form of cup and retaining and support means of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1, but showing the cup in tilted condition to permit proper pit removal from a now essentially untilted olive.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1, but showing a modified form of cup and retaining and support means of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1, but showing the cup in tilted condition to permit proper pit removal from a now essentially untilted olive.

Description Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a cup formed, for example, of metal and having an open upper end 12 to receive an olive, a pocket 14 to support an olive, and an open lower end 16 for the passage of the pit of the olive.

Support means for the cup comprises an O ring 18 of neoprene or other suitable material, a groove 20 formed in the cup to seat saidring, a coil spring 22 (preferably press-fitted on cup 10 so as to remain permanently attached thereto) supported by lower bar 24, L member 26 supporting bar 24, and a conveyor chain 28 supporting L member 26. Bar 24 is secured to member 26 by a bolt 30 comprising sleeve-spacer head 32 and shank 34, and by nut 36.

Bar 24 is provided with pit passage aperture 38 and is counterbored to seat a protuberant washer member 40, the latter being formed of a slightly compressible material and being thereby adapted to minimize the fragmentation of pits during the pitting operation when it supports and cushions cup 10, as shown in FIG. 2.

Retaining means for cup 10 comprises upper bar 42 having cup-housing aperture 44 formed therethrough,

Patented Nov. 19, 1968 the upper lip 46 of cup 10 having a lesser diameter than that of the upper end 48 of aperture 44, the outer diameter of the main body of cup 10 being comparably lesser than that of the lower end 50 of aperture 44, and lip 46 of cup 10 having a greater diameter than that of the lower end 50 of aperture 44.

The upper bar 42 is removably attached to sleeve spacer head 32 by a spring-loaded bolt 52 having a radial pin 54 received within slot 56 of head 32. Rotation of bolt 52 through a angle brings pin 54 out of slot 56 and into a vertical escape slot, not shown, in head 32, whereby bolt 52 and bar 42 may be removed. When bar 42 is so removed, cup 10 remains in attachment therewith because of the oversize relation of cup lip 46 and O ring 18 to the smaller diametral lower end 50 of bar aperture 44.

For further information concerning the general type of pitting operation to be performed within the improved cup assembly of the invention and concerning the environmental and related equipment parts which may be employed therewith, reference may be had to US. Letters Patent No. 2,407,126 to G. W. Ashlock, Jr., with particular reference to FIGS. 2 and 46 thereof.

FIG. 2 illustrates how cup 10 becomes tilted under the joint influence of the upper pitting knife and the lower coring knife at the ends of the olive pit. Frequently olives will come to rest within the cup in an attitude where the long axes of the pits are from a few degrees to up to five degrees out of alignment with the vertical. The freedom on the part of the cups to pivot or swing as the joint downward movement of the two knives in engagement with the pit ends commences insures that the longitudinal axis of the pit will become vertically aligned at the expense of a comparable degree of resulting misalignment between the longitudinal axis of the pocket of the cup and the vertical, and thus with the cup tilted but with the olive properly oriented for pitting the two knives carry the olive pit downwardly into quickly disattached relation with respect to the olive meat while minimizing the possibility of break-out occurring as the pit leaves the lower end of the cored hole in the olive.

As the joint downward movement of the two knives with the pit between them commences, cup 10 is moved downwardly against the resistance of spring 22 until the lower end of the cup bottoms on the washer 40. Release of the pit takes place immediately thereafter. Cup 10 normally assumes the angle of tilt to enable vertical removal of the olive pit before it bottoms on the washer 40. Washer 40 serves as a shock absorber between the time cup 10 bottoms upon it and the time the pit is snapped free of the meat by continued joint downward movement of the pitting and coring knives, thereby during this period of time eifecting minimization of the possibilities of pit fragmentation.

It has been found to be normally adequate to provide for a total amplitude of pivotal movement or swing of the cup of approximately ten degrees, i.e. so that the longitudinal axis of the cup may intersect the vertical at an angle of up to above five degrees at each side of the vertical.

The cup assembly of the invention, the preferred form of which is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is particularly desirable, useful and efficient in connection with the pitting of the larger species of olives such as Ascallanos and Sevillanos. Such olives are elongated both as to meat form and pit form, and the pits are of the cling variety which tends to promote break-out of the olive at the core end as the pit exists therefrom if the olive is oriented during this operation at an angle to the vertical.

The modification of the invention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 differs from that of FIGS. 1 and 2 in that no spring is employed to support the cup in normally spaced relation above the shock-absorbing washer. Instead, the rounded bottom of the cup normally rests upon the washer, and the interengageable surfaces of cup and washer enable the cup to become readily tilted as the above-described action of the knives takes place.

The elements and parts in FIGS. 3 and 4 which correspond to those described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2 have been designated by comparable reference numerals to which 100 have been added.

What is claimed is:

1. In an olive pitter comprising an open-ended cup having a pocket defined therein adapted to receive and support an olive so that the major axis of the olive posi tionally approximates parallel alignment with the longitudinal axis of the cup to a degree enabling pit removal through the lower open end of the cup, support means positioning said cup so that the longitudinal axis thereof is vertically disposed, a pair of axially aligned pit removal knives consisting of an upper pitting knife and a lower coring knife, and means to dispose said knives in vertical alignment with the longitudinal axis of said cup, move said knives toward each other and into engagement with the ends of the pit of the olive, and move said knives downwardly with the pit therebetween to effect pit removal, wherein the improvement comprises:

the provision of a free-play connection between said support means and said cup enabling limited universal tilting of said cup to dispose the longitudinal axis thereof at an acute angle of intersection with the normal vertical path of said longitudinal axis, whereby an olive disposed in said pocket with its major axis disposed at an acute angle with said normal vertical path may have its pit removed along an essentially vertical pit removal path under the action of said knives.

2. The improvement of claim 1, including means formed and positioned to support the lower end of said cup, and not impede pit removal, during the effecting of 4 pit removal by downward movement of said knives, said latter means being formed of a material which is at least slightly compressible.

3. In an olive pitter comprising a cup having a relatively large open inlet end for olives, a relatively smaller open outlet end for olive pits, and a pocket defined therein between said ends and having a longitudinal axis extending normal to said ends, said pocket being adapted to receive and support an olive so that the major axis of the olive positionally approximates parallel alignment with the longitudinal axis of said pocket to a degree enabling pit removal through the outlet end of said cup, elongated and axially movable means aligned with the longitudinal axis of said pocket and operable to move the pit out of the olive and the outlet end of said cup, and support means positioning said cup so that the longitudinal axis of the pocket thereof is aligned with the axis of movement of said elongated means, wherein the improvement comprises:

means enabling limited universal tilting of said cup to dispose the longitudinal axis of the pocket thereof at an acute angle of intersection with the axis of movement of said elongated means in response to pit removal operation of said elongated means.

4. The improvement of claim 3, including means formed and positioned to support the outlet end of said cup, and not impede pit removal, during pit removal operation, said latter means being formed of a material which is at least slightly compressible.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,283,714 5/1942 Wolff l46--27 2,407,126 9/1946 Ashlock 146-19 X 2,567,591 9/1951 Ashlock 146-l9 K. GRAYDON ABERCROMBIE, Primary Examiner. 

